Should I take supplements?

I am often asked about one supplement or another when it comes to nutrition. I believe it is a very personal decision, but I caution clients that they usually come with side effects and often the label on the bottle is not what is reported on the label (more is added that is unknown, or less of the active ingredient is included, etc.). Let’s clarify, a supplement is any substance (micronutrient, vitamin, mineral, etc.) that is not medicine.

Here are a few things to keep in mind in making a decision:

our bodies are unique and react differently to medications/supplements. Often the case is that what works for one person, may not work for another.

The supplement industry is a billion dollar industry. Make sure to do thorough research and if any red flags pop up, keep your money in your wallet.

“Given that they are both used for health purposes, it would be easy to assume that medications and supplements are regulated the same way and produced to the same standards, but unfortunately this is not the case. Unlike medications, supplements are regulated post-market, which means that no regulatory body evaluates the contents or safety of supplements before they are sold to consumers. Take a look below to learn more about the many differences between medications and supplements, and how those differences make supplement use risky for athletes.

Medications

FDA Review

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a comprehensive evaluation process for medications, assessing everything including the packaging, the design of clinical trials, and the manufacturing conditions.

Reliable Ingredient Labels

Medications must list every ingredient on the Drug Facts label, and these ingredients are confirmed through quality control analysis by the FDA.

Proven Safe Before Sale

To help protect consumers, medications are subject to strict premarket regulation, which means they go through a rigorous safety and efficacy evaluation process before reaching consumers.

Eliminate Your Risk: Global DRO

Global Drug Reference Online (Global DRO) allows you to search the prohibited status of specific medication brands and ingredients. Get started at: GlobalDRO.com

Supplements

No FDA Review

Supplements don’t undergo any evaluation process or testing by the FDA before they are made available to consumers. In fact, most supplement companies are never inspected by the FDA to ensure manufacturing best practices.

Unreliable Ingredient Labels

Manufacturers may misidentify prohibited substances on Supplement Facts labels, or they may fail to list prohibited substances altogether.

Proven Unsafe Before Sale

Because they are regulated post-market, supplements are sold to consumers until it becomes evident that they are harmful following consumer adverse event reporting. Even then, supplements with illegal or dangerous ingredients may remain on shelves for years.

Minimize Your Risk: Supplement 411

Supplement 411 offers various tools to help athletes realize, recognize, and reduce supplement risk, including a High Risk List of examples of products containing prohibited substances: Supplement411.org/HRL